Mouse trap



April 1940- F. J. GEORGE 2,195,484

" MOUSE TRAP Filed Aug. 9, 1937 a FRED J. GEORGE ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 2, '1940 UN lT-E s MoUsE TRAP?! I Fred J. George, Los Angeles,,(lalif.' v Application August 9, 19 37,:Serial No. 158,093f

12' Claims.

This invention relates to animal traps, and par ticularly to the class thereof adapted to ensnare mice, rats and other rodents.

r The destructive habits, the disease-germ-carry lng proclivities, andthe prolificacy of many species of small rodents, have stimulated efforts to produce means to efiectiv'ely remove this health and property hazard... Many kinds of spring traps I have been devised which, while efiec ti've' in some instances, are adapted to trap but a single animal at each setting of the spring, thus requiring constant attention. Moreover, in many of such devices it is .possible to remove the bait without springing the trap, thus eliminating the incentive of the animal to enter upon the tripping mechanism, Conventional devices intended'to succes' sively trap or kill a plurality of animals often require the efiort of the animals. to'open a trap door. However, beingfinstinctively wary, undesirable animals will seldom force an entry into a trap. v

It is a general object of the present'invention to obviate the aforementioned difiiculties by the provision of a trap more efficient in operation and requiring a'mini'mum of attention for the successivecaging of a plurality of rodents. v

It'is a specific object of my invention to provide a device comprising a trap chamber and a cage, the former having an unrestricted entry'for theadmission of the animal and a gate to close the entry actuated by the weight of the animal when-in the trap. chamber, said cage having a one-Way entry from the trap chamber adapted to be opened by the animal in its efiorts to escape from the trap chamber, the advancement of the,

' animal from the trap chamber'to the cage autoof disengagement of the latch by movement of an animal withinthe cage.

, Another object is to'provide boosters actuated by'the weight. of an animal to urge ,movement of a suspicious animal at the threshold'into the trap and at theentrance of the passage into the cage.

Other objects and salient features of my invention, such for example, as economy and simplicity of construction, durability, and ease and (01. 43-75) surety of following-.1 description read in the light of the accompanying drawing, in which: 1

Fig; l is a longitudinal sectional view of iny operation, will be apparent" to those of skill in the-art from an" examination ofythe.

invention illustrating, the parts" as positioned while the trap is set;

2 is p'lan'view of'the'device of Fi v .5

. Fig. 3 is a section, partially broken away, de picting a gateof the trap closed as when actuated l by the weight ofz-an animal confined therein;

Figs. i and are enlarged sectional views" taken onlines G 4 and 5i5 of'l igs; 3- and 4,

respectively. Fig. 6 is'a perspective view, partially broken;'away,'illustrating particularly" the opening inthe partition between the trap cham V ber andcage, the closure for said opening, and

latch for maintaining the closure means in open position. 1 'Referring to; the drawing in detail, theCnumer- [-als of -fwhichindicate similar parts throughout 'theseveral views, 6 designates the floor, andy'l opposed side. walls or an elongated trap. Be

tween the middle and one'end of the, device, a bait box 8fis provided and'fcompri's'es an l nclosure wall 8a formingithree sides of box 8 of a height equal'to that: of saidwalls l. The bottom edge of wall 8a is fastened by Well known means to. the fioorfS and its 'side edges engage one'of said wall s 1. Theportion of thelast-named wall l between the vertical linesthereon at which opposite edges of wall 8a is secured, thus forms the fourth wall of the .baitbox. "The upper edge of the inclosure wall will thus be flush with the upper edge ofv walls I; The top of the trap, including the bait box, is preferably covered with a wire mesh 9 over which the animals may crawl, enablingthem to see and smell the bait and through which light 'is admitted into the trap. An angular vertical partition lfl, secured to the box 8 at one side of the trap and to the opposed sidewall 'Ldividesthe trap intotwo chambers comprising a cage 5 l and a trap 'chamber l2. Partition t0 comprise's'a vertical wall Illa having a'width approximately equal to half that height is the same as that ofside walls l, whereof floor (5 on which said wall'is mounted, and its by wall Illa will be flush with thefupper' edge of the side walls. Wallllla is secured at a angle to the" wall I, which is Opl sed tothe wall .l-to which .inclos'ure wall'lla isisecu'red, andis offset with respect to the bait-box. A second same height as wall. I (la; is mountedon floor 6 and connects the vertical edge of thewall Illa, Qpp

vertical wall section lllb ofpartition 1B, of the site to the edge thereof which is connected to the side wall I, with the inclosure wall 8a of the bait box.

An oscillating platform l3 conforming substantially to the dimensions of the. floor in trap chamber I2 is pivoted transversely in the walls 1 by a transverse pin l4 secured to and laterally extending from theplatform. Pin 44 is journalled in side walls I closely adjacent the open end [5 of the trap chamber which is opposed to the endthereof formed by partition Ill. A plurality of holes l3aare formed in the platform at its innermost end. The weight of the platform is almost equally divided on'opposite sides'of the pivot I4, there being a slight weight balance of the innermost portion of the platform. A weight I5 may be secured to the underside of the outer endof the platform to compensate for the offcenter disposition of the pivot. A gate I! for the open end l5 of the trap chamber 12 has projecting parallel curved lugs 8 at each side of'its bottom edge. On the outside of the lower'end of each lug IS, a pin I9 is secured, which laterally extends into the adjacent wall 1 of the trap preferably slightly above thepoint of pivot of the platform l3. It will be obvious to anyone ofskill in the art that lateral projections which are in-' tegral with the. lugs respectively, maybe substituted for the pins I9 if desired. A stop 26 is secured to the walls 1 adjacent its upper edge in a vertical plane'between the point of pivot l4 and x the edges of the walls "I at the open end l5 of the. trap to prevent the gate I'Lwhen closed by means about to be described, from moving to a vertical position. Thus when the pressure compelling its closure is removed,the gate will open by its own weight. Thelower end of gate ll bears against the outer end of the platformby reason of the curvature of lugs l8, and being heavier than the difference in weight of the portion of the plat-- form at the opposite side of pivot l4, causes the opposite or inner endof the platform to rise. It will be apparentthat thegate i'l maybe made 1 heavy enough to offset the necessity of the weight.

i6; thus facilitatingconstruction of the platform from a single piece of material. Thev gate when opened thus forms a ramp over which a rodent may walk to enter the trap chamber between the walls '5 and thence on the platform. l a

The weight of. the parts is apportioned so that as the rodent passes the line of pivot of the platform, its own weight will cause the innermost end of the platform to drop and, coincidentally, the elevation of the outer end of the platform, which will exert pressure against the bottom of the gate abovepins 19 to raise the same. The closure of the gate will tend to urge, by boosting, the rodent, if ithas entered the trap slowly, into the trap chamber. As the full weight of the animal is transferred across pivot M of the platform, gate I! is completely closed and releasably latched, by means aboutto be described, thus holding the platform down. The platform is limited in its oscillatory movement by stops 2| and 22 secured to one of walls "I in any manner, well known in the art.

The trap chamber l2 and cage II are comand in a bracket 25, secured by any means well known in the art to the partition ID, at its opposite end. A member 26 hangs from bar 24 and normally gravitates to a. vertical position across the opening 23. A latch tongue 27 integrally formed with, and extending laterally from the member 25, swings withthe bar and member under the impulse of gravitation through opening 23. A vertical closure plate 28, comprising an upright extension of the side of the innermost end of the platform which is adjacent opening 23, is provided to normally cover the opening, i. e., when the inner end of the platform is up and the trap is set. Simultaneously with the closure of the gate I1, plate 28 will be lowered with the platform l3. As the closure plate is lowered below opening 23, the laterally extending tongue 21 swings partially through the opening under the impulse of the gravitation of member 26 and,

over the upper edge of plate with which it engages, thus latching the platform in itsxlower position and securing the gate in closed position.

Trapped rodents seeking a way of escape from chamber l2 will endeavor to get through opening 23 into the cage II and in so doing, push the tongue 2! into the cage, releasing the plate 28. Simultaneously the platform is relieved of the weight of the animal which permits the closure plate 28, to rise in response, to gravitation of the gate, tending to urge the animal into the cage. The elevation of the platform accordingly resets the trap chamber, opens the gate and closes th opening 23-by the closure plate 21.

A horizontal member 29 is journalled at its opposite ends in box 8 and bracket 25, respectively, closelyadjacent bar .24 to further slightly restrict the opening 23. The member 29 is adapted to be swung clear of the opening in response to v the pressure of an animal moving from a trap chamber into the cage. Member 29 minimizes the tendency of animals within the cage, inattempting to return into the trap chamber 12, to displace the latch when the trap chamber is occupied by a later caught rodent;

The outer end of the cage is'closed by a per. forated door 30 pivoted in the upper portion of the side walls 1 by laterally projecting pins, :preferably formed integrally with the door, An indented flange 3| integrally formed with its lower edge to engage the underside of the floor 6.. A

boss 32 protruding from the floor engages in the indentation to retain the door in closed position while the trap;- is in operation, but provides facile means for removing the trapped animals.

While I have disclosed but one embodiment of my invention, it .Will be obvious that numerous changes may be made herein, such, for example, as in the size, shape, proportion, or number of the parts; that the bait box may be, dispensed with; and that the entire trap chamber may be composed of perforated metal ormeshor other material well known in the art; all without departing from the spirit of my invention as defined by the appended claims. a

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: i

1. In a trap, an inclosure having an entrance aperture therein, a platform pivoted in said inclosure, a gate for said entrance aperture actuated by said platform, means to divide said inclosure having an opening therein, a closure for said opening actuated by movement of said platform, and means to latch said closure inopen position, and means actuated by a trapped animal moving through said opening to release said latch.-

2 In 'a'trap, an inclos urecomprising' a floor and ;,two side walls, a platform within said inclosure I pivoted intermediate its ends in saidfside walls, an outwardly opening gate having a laterally projectingcurved lug connected to its lower end, said lug being pivoted in said walls above said platform to bear against'the outer end ofsaidplatform and urge elevation of the inner end of said platform, and a member having-a pluralityjof holes therein'to connect the longitudinal edges of said side walls opposite to the edges thereof connected by said floor v I l .3. In a trap, an inclosure comprising floor and two side walls, a partition dividing said in closure, said partition havingan opening there-fin a. platform, means to jpivotfsaid platform and a gate for one end of said inclosurefopenable by gravitation of the gate and urged to closed position by said'platform, said closure plate being normally held in position closing said openingfby the weightof said gate.

7 4. In a trap, an inclosure havingfan opening in one end, a partition insaid -inclosurejhaving an openingtherein, closure means for theiopening in said partition, agate for the opening in, said inclosure havingits lower end pivoted ins'aidin closure adapted to gravitate to'jopen position,

and means actuated by gravitation of said gate to urge saidclosuremeans to a position closing the opening in said partition.

- '5. In a trap,' walls'- forming a trap chamber upon it vto means for said exit opening in ,closdand open position, respectively. 1 l

having entrancejand exit openings, a gate for saidentrance opening opened by gravity, means" to close said exit opening movable to closed .po-f

sition by said gate, and means actuated by weight said gate;

/ 6. In. a trap,'walls' forming a trap cham'berq having entrance and ,eirit" openings, aggatef for said entrance opening opened :by. gravity, means to close saidexit opening movable to cljosecl positionby said gate, means actulated by weight Y upon'it to open saidexitopeningiand .close" said gate, and "means ,to retain said gate and closure open saidv iexit'opening and close g x ing a 'trigger in said exit opening for releaseof m7.,Ina trap walls forming a trap chamber" having an'qentrance opening therein, and walls forming a cage having an 1 opening from said trap chamber, a gate to close said entrance opening, means toiclose said opening of said cage,

said-last-named means being movable to closed position by gravitation ofzsaid gate, latching means'tothold saidgate closed, and means to shield said latchingmeans from said cage.

8.1Inla trap, an inclosurehaving an-opening -therein,,a gate for said'openin'g, a partition in said inclosure forming two chambers therein,

said partition having an opening therein, closure means for said opening, means to-1atch said closure means in openposition, and means to urge ,an-animal trappedin one of said cham-K bers through said openin gfinto other of said,

chambers.

9. In' a trap, an inclosure having an opening 20 said inclosure forming two'chambers therein, said partition having an opening therein, closure means'i or said opening, andfmeans to latch said e closure means in open position and said gate inclosed position; respectively, and. means inthe therein, a gate for-said opening, a partition .in

path of ana'nima'l moving-from one of said chambers to iheotherfof'said chambers to release said latch.

10. In'a trap, aninclosure having an entrance andan exit [opening therein, an outwardly opening gate for saidentrance] opening adapted to gravitate to open-position, closure means for said'exit opening, "means connecting said closure means with said gate, said lastnamed means actuopening, and latching means for said'gatehavated by-gravitation of said-fgate to its open'posisaid latching means.

, 12. In a trap, aninclqsure having an entrance:

andan' exit. opening;"a gate.ior"-said entrance opening, latching means ,for said gate having a trigger in saide'xit opening for release of said strictingthe exit. opening.

l (mora e-"n. "f 

